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Monday, October 31, 2011

Faith like a Child

"He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."Matthew 18:2-4

For many years that was my prayer, to be like a child, not just humble in position, but to have faith like a child. That as I read the Word of God that all doubt would cease and like a child I would believe and embrace everything I read. Now to be clear I had no doubt whatsoever that the Bible is 100% true. Jesus is my Lord & I serve Him. That is not the kind of doubt I'm talking about. I'm talking about lies of the enemy that have a tendency to creep into my thoughts from time to time. And I think I know where those thoughts began.

I have been a Christian since I was 16 years old. I remember the first year as a believer reading the Bible and taking in every word with such delight and excitement. A year later I started college. Between undergrad and grad school I spent 5 years in the academic setting. If you've ever spent time in a secular university you know it's a difficult place to be a Christian. Many professors are not believers and some were often vocal in the unbelief. The prevailing "wisdom" is relativism-the notion that there is no absolute truth. While I was vocal in class defending my faith and the absurd idea that there is no right or wrong, I never realized how sitting under the teaching of unbelievers for years gave the enemy a foothold to cause me to doubt.

Now I'm not saying Christians should never go to secular universities-not at all! I just know for me, as a brand new Christian at the time, I wish I had gone to a university that would have given me a Biblical worldview and equipped me to serve the Lord. I'm sure if I went back into that academic setting now as a believer for the last 12 years my experience would be totally different and the lies I hear far less powerful. But as a new, impressionable believer, at that time in my life I needed to be disciplined before I was sent out into the world.

This past Thursday I was privileged to go to Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia-the largest Christian university in the world. I went with my friend Candace as she gave an incredible Gospel message at their Friday morning convocation. I had an amazing time hanging out with my friend but also loved our time spent at Liberty (although it was VERY short!). I was so impressed with the staff and student body and their love for the Lord and wanting to equip these students to go out into the world as a light for Christ! It caused me to wonder how my life would be different if I had gone to a university like Liberty. Obviously that wasn't God's plan for me and thankfully in His grace, He has taught me to take every thought captive, silence the untruths that were taught to me for years, and have faith like a child. But I will definitely encourage the people in my life to consider sending their children to a Christian university like Liberty.

What about you? Did you go to public school or a secular university? How did that affect your walk with the Lord?

About Me

Finding Purpose in the Pain is a community of women who share their stories of living through challenging circumstances. We share our stories to give voice to what we’ve gone through, to share the lessons God has taught us, to glorify God for carrying us through and to encourage other women in similar circumstances to seek God and persevere through their pain.